The Recruit

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages for</B></div> <div> <B> </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>          </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> The Recruit</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="501" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 88 ><NOBR><div> For collectible movie items, enter the movie, actor, director, etc. in the box below</div> <div>  <HTML> <BODY> <script language="JavaScript1.1"> var eBayMP_partner = "711-1751-4022-33"; // Don't change any javascript below this line. var eBayRedirectURL = "http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/" + eBayMP_partner + "?loc="; function redirectEnter(form,url){ var eBayURL = url; for (var i=0;i<form.elements.length;i++){ var e = form.elements[i]; if ((e.type != "image") && (e.type != "button") && (e.type != "submit")){ if(i==0){ eBayURL += "?" + e.name + "=" + e.value; } else{ eBayURL += "&" + e.name + "=" + e.value; } } } var temp = eBayRedirectURL + escape(eBayURL); document.location = temp; } </script> <table width="468" border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bordercolor="#3A3AF3" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td> <img src="http://img-snv.mediaplex.com/ads/711/1751/ebay_logo_468x60border_searchpull.gif" width="165" height="58" align="left" hspace="20"> <table border=0 cellpadding=1 cellspacing=0> <FORM action="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=37920209&siteid=37746411&bfpage=350x50_search_border" onSubmit="redirectEnter(this,'http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=37920209&siteid=37746411&bfpage=350x50_search_border'); 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After completing a grueling training period and being given an assignment, Clayton learns nothing is as it seems - maybe not even his own co-worker's identity. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> After a successful run as a technological wizard at MIT, James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is visited by Walter Burke (Al Pacino), a senior instructor in the CIA. Burke approaches Clayton at the bar where he works to offer him the rare opportunity to try out for the CIA. Clayton considers the offer, so he can learn more about his deceased father (who may or may not have been in the CIA) and decides to forget a life in the computer industry where he could have a major deal with Dell. </div> <bR> <div> After passing the entrance exam, Clayton begins to train under Burke's supervision at `'The Farm,'' a sprawling training facility for the CIA in Virginia. Once there, Clayton undergoes many grueling challenges and adventures that will prepare him for a life in the CIA (for example: He breaks into a CIA-constructed house and plants 3 electronic devices before escaping safely). Also at the Farm, Clayton meets the beautiful Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a fellow trainee who begins to have romantic feelings for Clayton and vice-versa. </div> <bR> <div> After a punishing period at the Farm, Burke tells Clayton that he is the leading performer in his class at the camp, and that he will be assigned to his first major mission. Clayton's new job is to find evidence that Layla, his love interest, is a traitor to the CIA and to retrieve revealing evidence by any means possible. Hey, who said the CIA was easy?</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>The Recruit</I> is a fun movie that is elevated higher by its standout performances. The director, Ronald Donaldson, recently directed the Kevin Costner film <I><B>Thirteen Days</B></I><B>,</B> but here he goes for a more fun and mainstream approach (that's not to say <I>Thirteen Days</I> wasn't a good film). The story here is divided into three basic parts of Clayton's journey - his recruitment by Burke, his training at the Farm, and then his adventure in the CIA. The first two parts of the film are fun and interesting, while the third is much more serious and suspenseful. Does the film get a little weak towards the end? Yes. Does that affect the movie as a whole? Yes, but the film is still an entertaining piece all the way through.</div> <bR> <div> The problem with the last third (also the longest), is we've all seen this before. I felt like I was basically watching a CIA version of <I><B>Training Day</B></I><B>.</B> I could foresee everything that was going to happen in the plot long before it even happened. Yet the final scene had a great twist that gave the last third the little boost that it needed. </div> <bR> <div> The problem with a movie divided into three "acts," with the third part the only real `'plot'' piece, is not that the plot is too late into the movie. If the plot doesn't live up to the standard the two segments before it established, the movie's value could be reduced. But let's get to those great performances.</div> <bR> <div> Colin Farrell is the real deal. He is young, consistently picks exciting films (disregard <I>American Outlaws</I>), and has the charisma to make him a bonifde star in Hollywood. He does a great job at masking his Irish accent, but someday I'd like to hear it in a film. But most importantly, he's just a great actor. This was confirmed in his scene stealing performance in <I><B>Minority Report</B></I><I>. </I>This film is just another reminder - and with <I>Daredevil </I>coming out in several weeks with Farrell as the villain - he is sure to be a household name. With Pacino, you just know what to expect. Here, he slides into the role as the manipulating recruiter with so much smoothness it makes you wonder if Pacino would really be so bad in the CIA. Well, if all else failed, he'd at least <I>act</I> well enough as a CIA senior instructor. Some people don't like Pacino as a villainous character, but honestly, I love it when he plays the villain. I mean seriously, this is Pacino we're talking about!</div> <bR> <div> If you've seen the previews for <I>The Recruit</I>, you've basically seen a short version of this film. <I>The Recruit</I> isn't an Oscar candidate - but it makes no false pretenses to be. This is an entertaining way to spend two hours watching two of the greatest actors of their generations. So if you're a fan of Pacino or Farrell, go recruit some tickets to this film as soon as possible (P.S. - training is optional). </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Rating PG-13 (sex; partial nudity; violence; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> David Spielman © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> David@reelmoviecritic.com</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Colin Farrell: <I><B>Minority Report</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Gabriel Macht: <I><B>Bad Company</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Al Pacino: <I><B>Insomnia</B></I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="299"><div> Roger Donaldson, Director: <I><B>Thirteen Days</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Bridget Moynahan: <I><B>The Sum of All Fears</B></I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="299"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="38" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="299" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>